


Lists

by Warpcorps



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Diary/Journal, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Lists, M/M, Matchmaking, Pining, Please Don't Hate Me, Post-Canon, Pranks and Practical Jokes, i guess, i might change the rating but don't get your hopes up, ok this isn't done yet but this is a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 08:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1812373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warpcorps/pseuds/Warpcorps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newton Geisler and Hermann Gottlieb totally hate each other, yep. That's a thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Catalyst

The contents of the desk drawers of one Dr. (x6) Newton Geizler were these: two sheaves of paper, one box ballpoint pens, one box herbal tea, one jar ground instant coffee, two spoons, one roll of aluminium foil, seven Hershey’s kisses, twelve packets of salt from various takeout restaurants, one bottle of soy sauce, one laptop, one scarf and glove set, and one list concerning his labmate.  
Here is the list, as deciphered from between stains and through chicken scratch, the likes of which can only be attained through earning six doctorate degrees all concerning some sort of scientific study.

Hermann

  * Stodgy
  * Crotchety
  * Uptight
  * Cranky
  * Utilitarian
  * Tbh 10/10 would bang
  * Pretentious
  * Snarky
  * Hilarious when he's being nice
  * Ugh his face I wanna kiss it
  * Total square though.
  * Wet blanket.
  * Cutie cute
  * I hate him so much oh gods why is this happening to me
  * Insufferable prick (Ha! I used his slang. Haha!)



Dr. Hermann Gottlieb may or may not have had a similar list about his own labmate. His, if he had such a thing, would be much more legible (using the sort of handwriting only gained by earning a math degree and then teaching using superfluous amounts of diagrams and writing near-constantly on boards that needed to be read from by a student using thick glasses in the back of an auditorium) and much less stained. It would, if it existed, go something like this.

Newton

  * Sophomoric
  * Childish
  * Undignified
  * Crass
  * Unbearably attractive
  * Troublesome
  * Pompous
  * Statuesque
  * Huggable
  * Urge-inducing
  * Tinnitus personified
  * Worrisome
  * Creepily obsessed with things that kill people
  * Indefensibly erotic and needs to wear a shirt more often or I’ll do something I’ll regret
  * Irrational and loathsome (Both things I have been called by him. Turnabout is fair play.)



But of course, that’s if and only if the mathematician had a list in the drawers of his desk along with his chalk, markers, spare wires, tea the same brand and flavor as Newton’s, chocolate bunny, wet wipes, and other various items which were all organized in a grid system held stable by interlocking pieces of notched cardboard (the kind you may see your grandmother sort her Christmas ornaments in, if your grandmother is of that sort that she sorts in that sort of way.)  
Of course, if and only if, while visiting the lab one day, Mako Mori and Raleigh Beckett found these lists while searching through desks for paperclips and staples (which neither had, even though they had both assumed Dr. Gottlieb would have his desk stocked like a normal office worker and Dr. Geizler would have paperclips at the very least because of how fun they are to play with) and switched them around while the doctors were still out on their own errands (coincidentally, restocking each of their supplies of paperclips and staples because of the exact reasons the Jager pilots had assumed they would have them), well that was for Mako and Raleigh to know and Newt and Hermann to find out, now wasn’t it?


	2. Initial Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be a oneshot but I just can't.

Three days after Mako and Raleigh’s  visit , Newt decided he wanted to add onto his list (he had thought of a new entry while inconspicuously staring at Hermann’s back, more specifically his backside and it needed to go on the list right then so that maybe he would stop staring at his partner-not-that-kind-of-partner. (And yeah, okay, the list existed. So what? It’s not like he thought about it while doing important stuff. Much.)

When he found a list that he hadn’t written, but apparently also existed, in the spot where his list normally lay, he freaked out quite a bit, shoved it back where it was, forgot all about what he wanted to jot down, and excused himself for a nervous breakdown disguised as a coffee break. This was a thin excuse, as everyone in the Shatterdome knew that Newt constantly had enough caffeine in his desk to power an army. Thankfully, there are other things to do during coffee breaks than actually drinking coffee. Like having a panic attack in the lavatory. That is an option of what to do during a coffee break. Don’t judge him.

When he came out of the stall he had locked himself into for a full fifteen minutes, he was completely calm and collected. Definitely not still shaking at all. And if he was then he could just blame it on things that were not Hermann. Like. Caffeine. And... other things. Maybe. Possibly a lack of sleep. People got jittery when they didn’t sleep, right?

He could do this. He could. For a while, at least. Hermann probably wouldn’t notice he was acting any different around him if he just... wasn’t around him. Yep. That would totally work. Newt knowing this new information didn’t have to change anything. Especially since he didn’t know what to make of it. It looked like it meant Hermann was attracted to him. It also looked like Hermann hated him. This was the strangest thing that had ever happened to Newt’s emotional state, and he had drifted with a Kaiju. Twice.


	3. Secondary Reaction?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to stop with using sciencey words for the chapters because I know nothing else please forgive me I was trying to act smart oops.

Hermann’s day had been normal so far. He had woken up, gotten his cane from his bedside and his glasses from their shelf, and prepared for a day of working and repressing any reactions (no matter of what sort) to Newton Geizler. When he got into the lab, he realized he had never said anything on his list about Kaiju entrails. While that would obviously be implicit to anyone he knew reading the list, (never mind no one other than himself was ever going to see the list) Hermann liked to be precise.  
Hermann fished out his list from the drawer without looking at it and put it in his pocket to edit later. He generally did this at lunch, where he could find a space where no one would look over his shoulder and see what he was doing. He did this with most projects that weren’t based completely in mathematics, writing at a table or desk with his back against a wall or bookshelf. He was intensely aware of the fact that he was horrible at spelling, and whether he was handwriting something or not, he almost always had a dictionary site opened in his browser or at least a spellcheck installed in his word processor of choice that day.  
The day was very normal before Hermann’s lunchtime, except for the minor detail concerning the fact that Newton had been completely silent all day and looked like he had been crying while on his extremely suspicious and not at all needed coffee break. For Gods’ sakes, they had a Keuring, a Mr. Coffee, and a HotShot in the lab, all five feet away from Newton’s desk. Hermann restrained himself from interfering or commenting, despite the fact that Newton looked particularly heartwrenching.   
In the lunch line, Hermann got the beef stroganoff, which was the least unappealing food they had on offer. The cafeteria in the shatterdome, like cafeterias in organizations all around the globe, was constantly proving itself to be below the standards expected from nutritionists and dieticians everywhere.  
When he found a suitable table, Hermann opened up his laptop and turned it on. While he booted it up he got out his list to reread it yet again.   
Was this a joke? This had to be a joke.  
Hermann very calmly continued with his day and avoided Newton like the coward he was.


End file.
